


Black is the Colour

by RedBadgerBerry



Series: Avatar: The Maroon Hero [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Ableist Language, Angst with a Happy Ending, Apologies, But He Gets Better, Caboose and Tex Are Bros, Church is a Dick, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Light Angst, Slight Churboose, Swearing, Tucker is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:41:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29691036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedBadgerBerry/pseuds/RedBadgerBerry
Summary: The backstory of how the Blues met Tex. This is needlessly dramatic and angsty, but it does involve Church, so what do we expect?Set somewhere in the time skip between chapters one and two of Creation.
Relationships: Leonard L. Church/Agent Texas | Allison, Michael J. Caboose & Agent Texas | Allison, Michael J. Caboose & Lavernius Tucker, Michael J. Caboose & Leonard L. Church
Series: Avatar: The Maroon Hero [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181807
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Black is the Colour

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in one feverish sitting, it is probably terrible, it's also too big to go anywhere in the actual fic so I've dumped it here. There are 2442 words. 50 of them are 'Church'.
> 
> Title in reference to the Nina Simone song.

Sometimes when Tucker and Church talk Caboose gets confused, but it’s not so bad, when he doesn’t understand something Tucker will explain it to him and Church will hold his hand and squeeze it very very tight. It hurts but Caboose still likes it, because it is Church. Everything is good. Until they turn seventeen, until they meet Tex.

There’s nothing wrong with Tex, not really. She is a metal bender and very pretty, with gold hair and silver eyes, she is also very grumpy but she never makes fun of Caboose for not understanding things. Caboose likes Tex, it makes sense for Church to like her too. The thing is, Church likes her a lot. 

At first he brings her with him when they hang out, which is fun. New friends are fun! Then they start hanging out without him and Tucker. Which is fine, sometimes two of them will hang out without the other, it’s not that unusual. Then they stop seeing Church all together. That is not fine, Caboose is angry and upset and lonely, and Church isn’t here to make it stop feeling like he’s missing a part. 

He spends a lot of time with Tucker, Tucker is nice, Tucker doesn’t abandon his best friends for a girl. This is mainly because Tucker is very very very very very very veeerrrryyyyyy bad at flirting, but Caboose pretends it’s because he’s a better friend than stupid Church. Sometimes, when he is in a bad mood and the spirits are giving him a headache, Tucker will let him play with his hair. Caboose loves it because Tucker’s hair is long and an even darker brown than his skin, he keeps it in neat braids, each one ending in a wooden bead or a small shell and tied with a brightly coloured piece of cloth, usually he has them tied together in a loose ponytail and the beads and shells clack together as he walks. It makes a noise like rain and Caboose loves running his hands across them and making them rattle. Tucker is a good friend.

A couple of weeks after Church stops talking to them Caboose interrupts them kissing. He doesn’t mean to, but Church’s house is between his and the market and it’s habit to walk that way, so when he turns the corner into a side alley and sees them wrapped up in each other his brain stutters and stalls. Then Church is yelling at him, and even though Church does that a lot, this is different because Church is angry, and Church is never angry at Caboose. He turns around and goes back the way he came, doesn’t say anything, just turns and goes.

Tex asking, “What the fuck was that about?” echoes around the corner and he doesn’t know why he stops to listen but his feet won’t move any further and he stands just out of sight, waiting for Church’s answer.

“I know, right, sometimes he can be such a-”

“Not him, arsehole, you.”

“Me?”

“Why’d you yell at him like that? I don’t think he even understood half of what you were saying.”

So maybe Tex is alright.

“Seriously? You’re going to get pissed off with me for Caboose being so…”

“What? Caboose is so what?”

He tries to breathe quietly, afraid they’ll hear him, afraid he won’t hear them.

“I don’t know...broken?”

Oh. Caboose wonders if you can be stabbed by nothing, because hearing Church sends a sharp, cold feeling through his chest and his throat closes tight around the wounded noise he wants to make.

“Caboose isn’t broken, you dick, he’s half on a separate plane of existence.”

“Yeah, but he’s still-”

“Caboose is different, not broken,” ok, Tex might be secretly nice, “and if you dragged your head out of your own arsehole for five seconds you’d see what a shitty person you’re being.” Her voice gets dimmer as she starts to walk in the opposite direction.

“Tex, wait!” Church’s footsteps follow her.

When Caboose gets home his mama barely has time to ask him why he’s back so soon before he’s slamming his bedroom door and hiding in his bed, crying into the scratchy softness of his blanket.

  
  


***

The next day Church comes to sit with them, Caboose is still sad about what he said but he’s missed him so much he pretends it doesn’t matter. Fifteen minutes later Caboose wishes Church hadn’t come back. All he’s done since sitting down is glare across the square, to where Tex is practicing her fighting forms, and mutter angrily. Tucker looks annoyed but Caboose, Caboose is angry. It sits inside him, hot and thrashing, so much of it that Onryō have started being drawn to him. The vengeful spirits tilt their heads towards him like dogs catching a scent.

He finally snaps. “Shut up.”

Church stares at him, “the fuck, Caboose?”

“No, he’s got a point,” Tucker agrees.

“What?” Church’s shock is starting to melt into anger..

“Dude, you’re one of my best friends but you’re being a massive dick.” Almost as one they stand, it’s easy to forget how short Church is until he’s facing them down, squared shoulders and bared teeth. “You ignore us for Tex for weeks and then you show back up and all you do is complain about her and expect us to just be ok with it.”

“Seriously?” Church’s voice echoes and now they’re drawing human attention as well, even Tex stops her drills to watch them. “All you do is chase after girls, Tucker, but the second I might get a girlfriend I’m the dick. And _you-_ ” he rounds on Caboose, “where do you get off being pissed at me, you never shut up about your crush on Sheila.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, Caboose doesn’t understand, that’s a surprise.”

“ _Church_ ,” Tucker starts but Caboose doesn’t let him continue.

“Stop it! Stop treating me like this, like I’m stupid,” the Onryō circle him, their hands reaching out, trying to work themselves beneath his skin but he pushes them away, this is his anger, they don’t get to use it, to take it and make it theirs, “I’m not stupid and _I’m not broken._ ” When Caboose screams until his throat is raw, it is a wholly human sound, weeks worth of rage and pain ringing so loud even the spirits reel back. 

“Caboose, I-” Church looks pale and small but Caboose isn't ready to forgive him yet and turns away.

“So you can just...you can just fuck off.” He ignores the stares of humans and spirits both as he runs away.

  
  


***

Tucker visits him at home later, he hugs him and makes a joke about never hearing Caboose swear before, but he can tell Caboose doesn’t want to talk and he hugs him again before leaving. There’s a knock at his bedroom soon after, probably his mama, but when he opens it Tex is standing there. She looks very awkward, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible in full black combat gear. When she smiles it looks nice but slightly uncomfortable, like her face isn’t very used to working in that way.

“Hey, Caboose. Is it ok if we… go somewhere...to talk?” He gets his shoes.

They end up sipping hot chocolate outside a café, Caboose closes his aching eyes and lets the steam from his drink wash over his face. He is very tired.

Tex speaks first, “I’m sorry about Church, he’s been weird lately,” she’s looking into her cup, spinning it between her hands, but Caboose nods anyway, Church has been very weird, “I didn’t realise how bad he was being until recently, but, well, I’m leaving in a few weeks, I hope things will go back to normal for you when I’m gone.”

“You’re leaving?”

She shrugs, “I only came here for my training course, after that’s done I’m going to Republic City, to join the police force, it’s always been my plan and it won’t change,” bitterness clouds her voice, “no matter how much Church wants it to.”

“I will be sad when you go.”

She finally looks at him, shocked. “You will? Why?”

“Because we are friends.”

“But everything with Church…”

“Isn’t your fault, Church is confusing, and sometimes very stupid, and kinda mean, and not always good at being friends. But he’ll come back, he always comes back, he’s Church.”

She laughs, “spirits, you’re exactly like he describes you.”

“Oh.” He shrinks in on himself, hurt.

“No, not like that,” she hurries to explain, “he just, he talks about you a lot, it surprised me how accurate he was. You’re very sweet and you care about people a lot. I’m happy we’re friends, Caboose.” She smiles her awkward smile at him again and Caboose beams.

“Before you leave, do you think you can teach me some of your fighting moves, in case Church is very, very stupid again.”

She throws her head back in a delighted laugh, “I would love to do that.” Tex is a kind of awesome friend, once you get past all the punching.

  
  


***

Things don’t stay bad for long, Caboose decides that Church needs some help being not stupid and goes to see him. 

“I’m sorry,” Church says as soon as he sees him.

Caboose smiles and they go inside. Church’s room is very familiar, covered in knick-knacks and photos they’d collected together, his bed was covered in the blue blanket Tucker’s mother had knitted Church for his thirteenth birthday, Caboose runs his fingers across it as he sits down, there’s a similar one on his own bed. Church stands awkwardly in front of the window, tugging at his fingers.

“Look, I just need to say everything and then you can say what you want but please just let me say this because I don’t know if I’ll be able to say it otherwise. Ok?” Caboose nods. “Ok, ok, so I’m sorry. I’m really really sorry, Caboose. I don’t think you’re broken, you’re amazing, I mean, you put up with my temper tantrums and Tucker’s compulsive need to flirt with anything that moves. And you still have time to help lost souls move on, you’re like some sort of saint! And sometimes, sometimes I can barely look at you,” Caboose flinches, “not because of anything you’ve done but because every time you talk to a spirit or I remember your hair used to be brown or, fuck, when you get possessed, I remember that it’s my fault-”

“Church, no.”

Church holds out his hand, “please, Caboose, please just wait.” He nods again, settling back down. “It is my fault, maybe you don’t remember very well but I do, you didn’t want to go up that wall but I insisted, I even shouted at you until you agreed, and I remember,” his voice catches and he stops to roughly scrub his palm across his eyes, “I remember watching you fall and I couldn’t catch you and all I could think was: ‘I’m going to be the reason my best friend dies.’” He starts to cry fully, body rocking with the force of his sobs, “I’m so sorry, Caboose, I’m so… I’m-”

He trails off into quiet whimpers as Caboose wraps his arms around him, tucking his head beneath his chin and squeezing gently when he burrows into his warmth. Church has never quite acclimated to how cold it can get and Caboose has always run hot, Caboose smiles as Church unconsciously rubs his face against his shoulder. “Church, it wasn’t your fault, we were playing and it was an accident, and even if it was your fault I wouldn’t be mad, you didn’t get me hurt on purpose and I like being the way I am.”

He pulls back to look up at him, “you do?”

“Yes, I met Sheila and I help people and even though I get confused sometimes it’s still ok because I have you and Tucker to help me.”

Church groans, “I’ve been a massive idiot, haven’t I?”

“Yes.”

He groans again, “and I still have to apologise to Tucker.”

“Yeah, that would be good.”

“Urrrgg,” he pulls away to flop on the bed, Caboose follows and they curl together, knees and foreheads touching, Caboose thinks of Tui and La, a perfect circle. “I’m sorry for being such a bad friend,” Church whispers.

“I know.” The emotions catch up with him and his eyes start to droop. He tangles their fingers together and falls asleep to the soft sound of Church breathing next to him.

  
  


***

Church did apologise to Tucker, they had a very long talk that ended in Church agreeing to go to some dubious sounding raves and be Tucker’s wing man and Tucker agreeing to forgive him. His talk with Tex ends differently and Caboose is woken up by him climbing through his window and asking, in that small, tight voice that means he’s trying not to cry, if he can stay the night. Caboose just makes room in the bed and listens as Church explains, between quiet sniffles, that Tex had agreed to be friends but had also made it very clear that things were over between them.

The next couple of weeks pass in a blur, Tex passes her training course with flying colours and is even able to teach Caboose some basic moves. 

“Benders overestimate their advantage,” she’d told him once, “they get lax when fighting non-benders, if you get in close it’s harder for them to attack you without hurting themselves, and keep moving, it’s harder to hit a moving target.”

Before long they’re standing at the docks to see her off, after she punches Tucker in the arm and stiffly hugs Caboose, she turns to Church.

“Would it matter if I came with you?”

She sighed, “no, Church, it wouldn’t, and besides, if you ever do come to Republic City it shouldn’t be to follow me, we’re kind of a terrible couple.”

“We’re not that bad.”

“Yeah, we really are. We’re both too,” she smiles to herself, “too mean. You deserve someone who makes you happier, not angrier, and to be honest, I deserve that too.” She clasps his shoulder. “Come and see me if you’re ever around though, ok? I do like being friends with you.”

“Yeah, I like it too, and I will.” He watched as she stepped away and on to the ship, “I guess this is goodbye.”

She shrugged and called over her shoulder, “I never really liked goodbyes, this can just be see you later.”

They stayed there waving until the boat was just a blob of colour drifting towards the horizon.


End file.
